E Timor NGOs Protest Rushed Electoral Process

The East Timorese NGO Forum sent the following
letter to members of the United Nations Security Council on
17 March. The letter expresses serious concern over the
rushed electoral and constitutional process being pushed by
UNTAET's Political Affairs Office. The NGOs are demanding
the establishment of a mechanism for thorough consultation
throughout East Timor on the constitution, and for adequate
time and resources to be allotted for this critical process.
Clearly, this process is a crucial step in East Timor's
struggle for self-determination. .

We are writing to you on behalf of the
East Timorese NGOs to inform you of our serious concerns
regarding the constitutional and electoral process. We ask
that you consider our recommendations as we strongly believe
that this will assist in the fulfillment of your
responsibility towards the East Timorese people.

Under
Security Council Resolution 1272 (1999) of 25th of October
1999, you gave UNTAET all executive and legislative powers,
including the administration of justice in East Timor. In
the execution of those powers, UNTAET was due to consult and
cooperate closely with the East Timorese people in order to
carry out its mandate effectively.

The current
transitional process is the last stage of a process which
began with the Popular Consultation, and which will end
with the adoption of the constitution. The adoption of the
Constitution will be the final step for the East Timorese
people to fulfill their right to self-determination,
through internal self-determination.

A Constitution is a
complex document embodying fundamental choices about the
type of country an independent East Timor will be. This
Constitution has to be a living document, which reflects how
the East Timorese as a people see themselves, relate to
each other, and finally, after many centuries, govern
themselves.

So, how are the East Timorese people to make
those fundamental decisions? By ensuring that a legitimate
constitutional process is established.

To achieve this
legitimacy, we need to establish a process that will
provide the East Timorese people with a real opportunity to
have their views on the key issues reflected in the
drafting of the Constitution. This process will need to
balance the urgency of East Timor becoming an independent
country with the essential need for the Constitution to be a
document reflecting the aspirations of the East Timorese
people.

For this to happen, the East Timorese people have
to be provided with the information on the choices that have
to be made, information on what a Constitution is,
information on the options available to them on the
fundamental issues. They will then need time to consider and
debate so that they are able to form opinions, time to hold
discussions in order to seek consensus where opinions are
divided, and finally time to officially record their views.
None of this can happen in three months.

The proposed
timeframe being pushed by UNTAET and some East Timorese
leaders would only allow consultation on the constitutional
process to take place over a period of approximately three
months due to the rush to hold the election on the 30th of
August. This is forgetting that the very purpose of the
election is to establish a Constituent Assembly that will
draft the Constitution. The Constituent Assembly will not be
in a position to carry out any further consultation on the
Constitution with the East Timorese people. It will be
under enormous pressure to deliver the document that will
declare the independence of East Timor. The Constituent
Assembly will have 90 days within which to prepare and adopt
the Constitution. At the same time, it is envisaged that the
Constituent Assembly would be the only body with East
Timorese representation, able to perform legislative
functions.

All the legitimate constitutional processes
that have taken place in recent years were carried out over
a period of three to four years. The consultation process
for the South African Constitution lasted over three years.
A three-month process would rob the East Timorese of their
right to contribute to the future of their country and it
will alienate them from the very document that should voice
their aspirations.

A legitimate process can happen within
a reasonable timeframe.

A draft regulation establishing a
Constitutional Commission is being debated in the National
Council. The proposed regulation provides for a nine-month
consultation period together with a further three months to
finalize the report and draw up recommendations for the
drafting of the Constitution. It is still a very ambitious
and tight timeframe, but it is one which, we believe, can
produce a legitimate process, taking into account the size
of East Timor and the determination of its population to
actively participate in this process. In effect, it
represents no more than a three-month addition to the
initially proposed timetable.

The proposed Commission will
have a critical task, and it is therefore essential to
ensure that this body is provided with the mandate and the
capacity to effectively carry it out. The proposed structure
and composition of the Commission will ensure that the
constitutional process is treated with the seriousness and
the comprehensiveness that it deserves and that the East
Timorese people deserve.

Consultation is not a simple
process. To be effective, the Commission will need to ensure
dissemination of information on the questions to be decided,
that adequate time for reflection and discussion to form
opinions is provided, and finally to establish a mechanism
through which these views can be formally expressed and
recorded.

At this critical juncture, we ask that the
Security Council fulfils its responsibility towards the
East Timorese people as the body entrusted with assisting
them to realize their rights to self-determination.

This
requires that the UN Security Council ensures that:

* a
Constitutional Commission is established as a formal and
effective mechanism for consultation throughout East Timor
on the Constitution;

* the Constitutional Commission is
adequately resourced to carry out its functions within the
limited time available to it;

* the timeframe provided for
consultation with the East Timorese people is at least 9
months with a further three months for reporting.

We
believe that such steps are essential if the UN Security
Council is to fulfil its mandate towards the East Timorese
people.

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